new body of research is deepening the debate around vaping: are e-cigarettes truly the best tool for helping smokers quit, or are they fueling a new generation of nicotine addiction? Kenya’s National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), along with independent experts, are raising red flags even as the cessation data looks promising.
Cochrane Review: E-Cigarettes Outperform NRT
A major Cochrane Reviews analysis covering more than 80 studies and 29,861 smokers found that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes were more effective than traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) such as patches and gum in helping people quit smoking for at least six months. They also outperformed nicotine-free e-cigarettes.
Notably, of the 75 studies that disclosed funding, only 8 acknowledged support from the tobacco or vaping industry the remaining 66 had no industry funding at all, lending extra credibility to the findings.
On safety, researchers noted that serious unwanted effects were uncommon. The most commonly reported side effects were throat irritation, mouth irritation, cough, headache, and nausea generally mild to moderate, and tending to fade over time.
The timing matters: Kenyan lawmakers are currently reviewing the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which will shape future regulation of emerging nicotine products, including vapes and nicotine pouches. The bill has already passed the Senate and is now before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health.
Youth Addiction: The Bigger Concern
According to the report, Nacada’s deputy director Simon Mwangi warned that social media is fueling nicotine addiction among young people. A 2024 study found that children in Kenya aged 10 to 17 are increasingly trying nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes around 5% of students use e-cigarettes, and 4.2% use nicotine pouches.
Mwangi noted that marketing tactics have shifted: “Marketing has shifted from billboards and magazines to influencers and lifestyle content.” He cautioned that “safer alternative” claims should be treated carefully, since nicotine is highly addictive and harmful to developing brains potentially affecting attention, learning, and other aspects of brain development.
Long-Term Impact on the Brain
Research published in the journal Psychopharmacology shows that vaping during adolescence leaves a lasting imprint on the brain’s reward system, fueling nicotine-seeking behaviour well into adulthood. Dr Ian Mendez, the study’s corresponding author, said early nicotine vapour exposure doesn’t simply fade with time even after extended periods with no nicotine, that early exposure continued shaping behaviour later in life, which matters for the many young people who started vaping as teens and are now carrying the habit into adulthood.
Effects on the Heart and Blood Vessels
A separate study in Nature Reviews Cardiology explains how nicotine affects blood vessels. Study co-author Prof Filippo Crea said nicotine is an active driver of endothelial dysfunction one of the first steps toward atherosclerosis, hypertension, and heart failure. Prof Thomas F. Lüscher, president of the European Society of Cardiology and a study author, added that only complete abstinence is risk-free.
Co-author Prof Münzel noted that while e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn devices were initially marketed as reduced-risk alternatives to combustible cigarettes, the study shows these products “sit on a continuum of cardiovascular risk, not off it.” Removing combustion reduces harm, he said, but it doesn’t remove it.
Cessation Aid or Lifestyle Product?
Celine Awuor, CEO of the International Institute of Legislative Affairs, drew an important distinction: approved cessation medications go through a regulated, prescribed withdrawal process, while e-cigarettes are sold online without prescription. She argued that the packaging and wide variety of flavours in e-cigarettes are actually designed to hook people rather than help them quit marketed more as lifestyle products aimed at making young people “look chic,” rather than as medicine.
What Official Guidelines Say
In 2024, the WHO released its first-ever guideline on tobacco cessation for adults, recommending varenicline, NRT, bupropion, and cytisine as effective treatments notably not e-cigarettes. The WHO also recommends behavioural interventions (brief counselling to more intensive support) and digital tools like text messaging and apps as adjuncts to quitting.
Source: Nation Media Group
